1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, system and method, and a recording medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, which are capable of, for example, providing value-added content to users, and to a recording medium therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, it is common that merchandise introduction information such as direct mail is prepared according to preference tendencies of individuals and is distributed. Therefore, conventionally, for example, personal information is collected by questionnaires, and based on the analysis results thereof, preference tendencies of individuals are found.
However, in the above-described conventional method, there are problems in that it is difficult to prepare questions for obtaining accurate preference information and that questionnaire results differ depending on the checker of the questionnaire, making it difficult to ascertain accurate preference tendencies. Also, there is a problem in that it takes an enormous amount of time to prepare questionnaires, check them, and analyze them.
Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has previously proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-48046 (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-144505, U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/463425), a method in which personal information having high correlation with the personal information of a subject user from the personal information of a plurality of users, and based on the personal information, a list of CD (Compact Disc) titles is created, so that a list of CD titles which seem interesting is provided to the subject user.
In the previously proposed method, however, just the titles of CDs and books that a user seems interested in are introduced. Consequently, in the previously proposed method, even if, for example, the contents of the CD selected by the user from the list of CD titles can be provided to the user, the same contents recorded on a CD are provided to all the users.
That is, in the technique disclosed in U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/463425, a method of estimating the preference of each user and providing a list of CD titles appropriate for the preference of each user is disclosed. However, the contents recorded on a CD are fixed regardless of the preference of the user.
However, it is expected that, if content can be provided to users in accordance with the preference of each user, an added value can be given to the content, and the number of users who use those services will increase.